Jiang Xingyao held up three fingers, looking solemn and serious.
“I swear, today really was the first time in my life I’ve ever driven a car. If you insist that my driving skills are good, then it can only mean that you’re a good teacher and I’m a quick learner.”
Xie Jingsi shot her an unhappy look. “Then Fourth Young Madam really is exceptionally gifted.”
“Hehe… Let’s go. We’ll head home and eat.”
Since this was her son-in-law’s first visit for a meal, Xu Xiangmei had prepared a full ten dishes.
Braised chicken, steamed fish, braised pork, five-spice beef, sweet-and-sour ribs, cold pig ears, minced pork with eggplant, dry-pot cauliflower, hand-torn cabbage, and smashed cucumber with garlic.
There was also steamed tofu with egg.
Xie Jingsi said, “Mom, why did you make so many dishes? Since I’ve married Xingyao, I’m your son too. I’m coming home to my own family, so there’s no need to be so polite.”
“All right. They’re all just home-style dishes. Don’t be shy, Xiao Si. Eat more.”
The more Xu Xiangmei looked at her son-in-law, the more she liked him. He was handsome, wealthy, and, most importantly, he didn’t put on airs.
Jiang Xingyao picked up a clean pair of chopsticks and placed a piece of sweet-and-sour pork ribs in Xie Jingsi’s bowl.
“Try my mom’s specialty.”
“Okay!”
Xie Jingsi put the ribs into his mouth. “Mmm, they’re really good. Even better than what the chefs at our house make.”
Xu Xiangmei smiled. “Then come over for meals more often from now on.”
“Of course, Mom.”
Jiang Jiandong brought out a bottle of liquor and several glasses. “Come on, Xiao Si. Let’s have a drink.”
Xie Jingsi stood up and took the bottle from Jiang Jiandong’s hand. “All right, Dad. You sit. I’ll pour.”
Jiang Qingze hurriedly stood as well. “Brother-in-law, you sit too. It’s your first time visiting. How can we make you pour the drinks?”
“I may be visiting for the first time, but I’m visiting my own home. What? Third Brother, are you unhappy with me? Do you not sincerely consider me one of the family?”
Jiang Qingze was instantly rendered speechless. He obediently sat back down.
But Jiang Qingjun stood up and said, “It’s precisely because we consider you family that you can’t be the one pouring the drinks. Although you’re older than Qingze and me, in our hearts, you and Xingyao are the same. You’re both the youngest, and you’re both the ones we dote on the most. As long as your brothers are at home, the two of you don’t have to do anything. Just sit there and eat.”
Jiang Qingjun took the bottle from his hands as well and pressed him back into his seat.
A warm current surged through Xie Jingsi’s heart.
He was the fourth child in his family, with three older brothers and a younger sister.
But he had never experienced the affection between siblings. After all, the five of them had been born to four different women.
Every day in the Xie family mansion was a battle of schemes and intrigues, where one had to tread carefully as though walking on thin ice.
He had never experienced the simple, deep family affection that surrounded the Jiang family.
Jiang Xingyao put another piece of braised pork into his bowl.
“Eat.”
“Thank you.”
After having a glass of liquor, Xie Jingsi suddenly said to Jiang Xingyao, “The jewelry and money I brought were for you, but the household appliances are meant for your parents to use.”
Xu Xiangmei hurriedly said, “No, no. When you two get married, Xingyao can take everything with her.”
Their family was already far inferior to the Xie family, and they couldn’t come up with much of a decent dowry. If they kept even their daughter’s betrothal gifts, not only would people gossip, but Xu Xiangmei herself wouldn’t be able to live with it.
“If she takes them with her, there’s nowhere for us to use them anyway. They’d just go to waste.”
Xu Xiangmei was about to say something else when Jiang Xingyao spoke first.
“We’ll use them. I’ll figure out what to do with everything later. It’s already late autumn, and winter is just around the corner. Having a washing machine will be so much more convenient. Otherwise, washing clothes with icy water will leave your hands covered in sores.
“And that big color TV—I’ll watch it if you two don’t. It’s not like I have a job anyway, so I’ve got nothing to do at home.”
Only then did Xu Xiangmei say, “All right. We’ll listen to you.”
Xie Jingsi turned to look at Jiang Xingyao. “If you want to work, I can arrange a job for you. Any organization you want. A bank, the courts, the Water Conservancy Bureau… anything is fine.”
“No need.” Jiang Xingyao shook her head. “If I went to work at those places, I could spend my whole life working and still wouldn’t earn enough to cover the price of just one car you gave me. That would be nothing but a waste of my life. If I get the chance in the future, I want to open a shop and do something I actually enjoy. I want to make enjoying life my priority.”
Xie Jingsi couldn’t help but admire her. “You really see things clearly.”
His little wife truly was different from other women. The more time he spent with her, the more interesting he found her.
Since Xie Jingsi had given his car to Jiang Xingyao, she had no choice but to drive him home after dinner.
Following the address Xie Jingsi gave her, she arrived at a place called the “Xie Family Estate.”
“Young Master, is this your home?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Xingyao peered through the car window. “Your family’s place must be at least two hundred mu, right?”
“Mm.”
For some reason, Jiang Xingyao felt that the subject didn’t make Xie Jingsi particularly proud. Instead, there seemed to be a faint trace of sadness in his voice.
“Then get out. We haven’t had our wedding yet, and it’s already afternoon, so I won’t go in to visit Uncle and Auntie.”
“Mm. Drive carefully on your way home.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Xingyao returned home, but as soon as she got out of the car, she saw Zhao Hewen squatting by the wall at the gate, smoking.
The moment he saw Jiang Xingyao, he immediately stubbed out his cigarette and blocked her path.
“Jiang Xingyao, what do you mean by this?”
Jiang Xingyao was confused. “What do I mean? What did I do?”
“Why did you marry that Xie Jingsi?”
“To marry him in place of Shen Jiaoli, of course.”
“Then why did you have to marry him in place of Shen Jiaoli?”
Jiang Xingyao nearly laughed. “It doesn’t really count as marrying him in her place. Didn’t we already establish that I’m the Shen family’s biological daughter? The marriage between the Xie and Shen families was arranged decades ago. Isn’t it only natural that I would marry into the Xie family?”
Zhao Hewen snorted, his eyes filled with inexplicable anger.
“What do you mean, ‘only natural’? Arranged marriages are an outdated practice. These days, everyone believes in free love. You loved me so much—you could have resisted even if it meant dying. So why did you insist on marrying him?”